Watch: Werner Herzog Shows the Dangers of Texting and Driving in Powerful New Documentary

Movie lovers complain regularly about the annoyance of people texting in theaters – and while that certainly is inconsiderate, it pales in comparison to the trauma caused by people who text while driving. Filmmaker Werner Herzog has tackled the issue head-on in his new short documentary From One Second to the Next.

In this 35-minute film, Herzog introduces us to people affected by those who text while driving and highlights the dangers of the practice. The piece is somber and heavy – but also important. Texting while driving causes 100,000 accidents a year – a number that’s on the rise. Distracted drivers are having the same sort of impact on families that drunk drivers do – killing lots of innocent passengers and pedestrians and people in other vehicles.

While states have enacted laws that make it illegal to text while driving, perhaps a firsthand view of the carnage the practice can create will dissuade you from looking at your phone the next time you’re cruising through a neighborhood or blasting down the interstate.

Herzog has crafted a powerful and engaging film – one that allows the subjects to reveal their pain and anger (and it’s not all one-sided – one interviewee was a driver who killed three people because he was texting) without any flashy camerawork or histrionics. The filmmaker captures the pain and agony these people are enduring – and if you’re not moved to put down your phone after watching this, you probably shouldn’t be driving in the first place.

Check out From One Second to the Next below – and be sure to share it with your friends, and children, if they’re out there on the roads.

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